Hurricane Gabrielle grows to Cat 4, but moving away from land

UPDATE MONDAY NIGHT:
People in the Azores archipelago were advised Monday to monitor the progress of Hurricane Gabrielle which is now a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center said.

Gabrielle had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph on Monday afternoon as it skirted to the east-southeast of Bermuda, according to a hurricane center advisory. It was centered 180 miles away from Bermuda and moving to the north-northeast at 12 mph, away from the U.S. Atlantic coast.

The major hurricane was still over 2,000 miles west of the Azores, however forecasters project that the system will continue to the north and east over the next several days. The hurricane could approach the islands by the end of the week.

Forecasters said in the advisory that little change in wind strength was expected from Gabrielle on Monday night, and the system could weaken gradually on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Gabrielle strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean earlier on Monday but was forecast to remain away from land.

Gabrielle had become a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday before it underwent intensification in warm Atlantic waters. 

This year’s Atlantic hurricane season has been relatively quiet and before Gabrielle there was only one named hurricane in that ocean. Experts say there’s a few reasons for that, but it doesn’t mean dangerous systems won’t form later.